Description

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Batman: The Dark Knight #3
Batman and Robin Iconic Splash Page 10 Original Art (DC, 1986).
Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns defined the best of
1980s comics, and has since been universally acknowledged as one of
the most important and influential stories ever published. Miller
is arguably the greatest superhero writer/artist to work during
this period, and Dark Knight is his undisputed masterpiece:
the four-issue series rejuvenated Batman as DC's most popular
character and in the process helped revitalize the comics industry.
This splash page is to our minds the single most memorable image
from the entire book and the greatest image from the decade ever to
come to market -- as well as one of the handful of most desirable
pieces of original comic art from any era to come to market. A
perfect stand-alone image of Batman and Robin (Carrie Kelley, the
first female, full-time Robin) soaring high above Gotham City, an
icon symbolizing the entire storyline -- this one has everything
going for it.
As demonstrated by the fact that we've only offered two Dark
Knight panel pages previously -- and the fact that no splash
page, much less a such an undeniably classic image, has never been
offered at auction -- artwork from the famed series is much scarcer
than anything else from the period. This gem has been locked away
in a single collection since being purchased upon the series'
original publication and is the definition of "fresh to market."
And unlike many pages from the series, where differences between
the original art and the published version are evident (as a result
of Miller making changes on pasteovers), no changes were made to
this artwork for publication, and the original contains no
paste-ups or stats -- it's pure art, just the way it appeared in
print.
Definitive is the only adequate description of this masterpiece,
and as such, it was chosen to represent the entire time period in
DC's recent 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern
Mythmaking book, serving as the chapter heading for "The Dark
Age: 1984-1998," and reproduced as a glorious color full-page
image, leading off the chapter on page 556.
In 2005, Time magazine ranked The Dark Knight Returns
as one of the top ten graphic novels ever created. As Alan Moore
wrote about the series: "Beyond the imagery, themes, and essential
romance of Dark Knight, Miller has also managed to shape the
Batman into a true legend by introducing that element without which
all true legends are incomplete and yet which for some reason
hardly seems to exist in the world depicted in the average comic
book, and that element is time... time has come to the Batman and
the capstone that makes legends what they are has finally been
fitted. In his engrossing story of a great man's final and greatest
battle, Miller has managed to create something radiant which should
hopefully illuminate things for the rest of the comic book field,
casting a new light upon the problems which face all of us working
within the industry and perhaps even guiding us towards some fresh
solutions."
In short, this is one of the most important pieces of original
comic book art Heritage has ever had the pleasure to offer.
This iconic masterpiece from "Hunt the Dark Knight" has an image
area of 11.5" x 17.75", and aside from some very light paper aging
in the image area and some passages of white-out, the art is in
Excellent condition.

"I've always loved that drawing. Danced around my studio like
a fool when I drew it. I hope it finds a good home."
--Frank Miller

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